Alabama expands park network along its coast

Alabama residents and visitors can now access 79 acres of previously private beach for public enjoyment.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) in the United States announced last week that it acquired a span of privately held but undeveloped beachfront property on the Fort Morgan Peninsula at the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

“These properties are now part of the Alabama State Parks System, ensuring their permanent protection, public access, and improved habitat management,” ADCNR proudly stated in its announcement.

Officials there said the land purchase was made possible thanks to funds arranged by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, and the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.

Beachgoers and endangered species stand to benefit from the move.

The land purchased in this latest move sits adjacent to beachfront property already acquired by ADCNR using money from the massive settlement following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig disaster and subsequent oil spill, the largest in US history.

Earlier acquired land was donated to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to expand national wildlife refuges.

A major portion of oil spill settlement money is being directed toward conservation initiatives.

Aside from managing the new properties as a state park, ADCNR says the property it has now acquired will be managed to “permanently benefit sea turtles, shorebirds, migratory birds, and the endangered Alabama beach mouse.”

“In total, ADCNR and its partners have acquired over 1,600 acres on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, using more than $77 million in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration funding,” the agency said.

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